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Dan Thompson, an Olympian in swimming, has been hired as the chief executive officer of Skate Canada.

The seven-year veteran of the national swim team made a move into corporate marketing at the conclusion of his competitive career, and was most recently the president of Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities, which is dedicated to helping kids participate in sport and recreation.

"An Olympian himself, Dan understands the requirements of preparing athletes for elite competition," Skate Canada president Benoit Lavoie said in a release Tuesday. "Combined with his marketing and management experience, we have a leader who can truly inspire the organization."

Thompson was named to the Canadian team for the 1980 Olympics, which were ultimately boycotted.

He has worked as a sponsorship marketing consultant, and in the 1990s worked with the Canadian Figure Skating Association to create broadcast sponsorship packages with CTV, develop the Champions Series of skating, which became the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series, and launched the Champions on Ice figure skating tour.

"I feel fortunate to have been given the opportunity to lead one of Canada's truly great sports," Thompson said. "It is one of the most professionally managed National Sport Organizations in the country and has an outstanding history of consistently producing world champions and Olympic medallists."